In most companies, cold calling means calling any list of prospects that you have any hope at all of selling at any time in the future. Although you can market like that, here is a better way.

If you go through your list of past customers, you’ll notice something strange. Eighty percent of your marketing business will come from twenty percent of your customer list. In some companies it may even be a ninety five/five percent split. In other words, five percent of your customers will account for ninety five percent of your sales. You need to identify that five percent, and find out what they have in common.

This is easier to show in a business to business example. You have a few customers that account for most of your marketing results. If these are big companies, why not just get a list of the other big companies in your area and concentrate on marketing to them. I don’t mean just give them a call. I mean send them direct mail packages, give phone calls, mail them articles they may like, and send little gifts. Make offers that are hard to ignore. Make them your cold call marketing hit list.

You can go to zapdata.com or infousa.com to get the lists. Make sure you have the name of the CEO and the phone number.

Then you just call, mail, or e-mail (light on the E-Mail) something every two weeks.

Will they take you call right away and see you? Maybe one or two will, but that’s not where your real measurable success is. Figure on spending anywhere from a few months to a couple of years just to get to see the CEO. But you know what? After you have been in contact with them (meaning the CEO, not the company) for several months, an alchemy takes place.

Now you are not a stranger. In fact, you may become a topic of conversation. The CEO will remember your name. He will begin using you as an example of how his marketing reps should be more persistent in their cold calling. He will begin to wear down. And something else will happen. Eventually the company that currently sells what you sell to him, will do something that irritates the CEO. You’ll get a call to replace the guy they are mad at.

If you look at the amount of money that you invest in marketing to each new Big Fish customer, you’ll see that it is far smaller, by percentage, than what you spend marketing to the little accounts.

Of course, you still service your small accounts. But you concentrate on getting the big ones. Your company will love you, your spouse will love you, and you will surprise yourself at how easy this type of marketing really is.

And after you talk to the CEO once, it isn’t cold calling anymore.